Detroit Lions: Despite the win, there are still plenty of questions

The only constant of Patricia’s Lions is inconsistency

Now let me say that despite the Falcons record, I don’t think the game in Atlanta is a gimme like Jacksonville. The Falcons have scored points all season, but have found Lion-like ways to lose. I’m not sure if they can out pratfall the kings of the NFL pratfall.

But I would dare say that we should learn more about the Lions defense this weekend than we did against the Jaguars.

However, there are still things that Matt Patricia needs to prove. One is having his best players on the field. Last Sunday dehydration played a part in the Lions rotation on the offensive line. Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Tyrell Crosby both left the game suffering from dehydration meaning some additional shuffling was needed.

Rookie guard Jonah Jackson, however, did not suffered from dehydration or injury. Yet he was platooning with Joe Dahl.

Frank Ragnow is the best player on the Lions offensive line and left tackle Taylor Decker has enjoyed a very solid campaign so far as well. After them, Jonah Jackson has been the next best player on the line. Why was he rotating with Joe Dahl who just returned from injury?

Early on the Lions offense featured plenty of Adrian Peterson as usual, yet when they finally gave D’Andre Swift a chance to actually show his ability, he rushed for 116 yards. Will he go back to a minimized role against the Falcons?

Despite the win over Jacksonville, the Lions are still only 11-25-1 with Matt Patricia. There haven’t been many good all-around games they have played under Patricia, but when they have they couldn’t carry it over to the next game.

In truth, we don’t if the defense will continue to stray from Patricia’s beloved system and be aggressive while mixing up coverages. Even if they do we aren’t entirely sure how it will work against a competent NFL team.

The offense finally looked like what we expected for the most part against Jacksonville, but was that just a product of a bad Jaguars defense?

Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have avoided a big landmine in Jacksonville and now have a favorable schedule that could allow them to meet their mandate and possibly secure their return for next season. Yet with the only constant of Patricia’s Lions being inconsistency, will they be able to take advantage of this opportunity?